Yes, it’s Rocket Science
Basics of space flight: orbital mechanics
Orbital mechanics, also called flight mechanics, is the study of the motions of artificial satellites and space vehicles moving under the influence of forces such as gravity, atmospheric drag, thrust, etc. Orbital mechanics is a modern offshoot of celestial mechanics which is the study of the motions of natural celestial bodies such as the moon and planets. The root of orbital mechanics can be traced back to the 17th century when mathematician Isaac Newton (1642-1727) put forward his laws of motion and formulated his law of universal gravitation. The engineering applications of orbital mechanics include ascent trajectories, reentry and landing, rendezvous computations, and lunar and interplanetary trajectories.
Comments
Comment from Richard Gill
Time: July 6, 2009, 2:08 am
The judge in the infamous Sally Clarke case (mother imprisoned for murder of her babies) refused to let Prof Phil Dawid, president of the Royal Statistical Society, testify for the defence in court since Prof Meadows’ (child psychiatrist) statistics “wasn’t rocket science”. It was totally wrong and led to an apalling miscarriage of justice. Mrs Clarke was later vindicated but died a totally broken woman.
Not so relevant to the blog topic, I’m sorry, but the phrase “rocket science”will never be the same again.
Comment from ColonelFazackerley
Time: July 8, 2009, 6:35 am
I think Copernicus and Kepler both did Celestial mechanics before Newton.
Ptolemy did them too, but he was more wrong.
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Comment from Richard Gill
Time: July 6, 2009, 2:03 am
The judge in the infamous Sally Clarke case (mother imprisoned for murder of her babies) refused to let Prof Phil Dawid, president of the Royal Statistical Society, testify for the defence in court since Prof Meadows’ (child psychiatrist) statistics “wasn’t rocket science”.